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March 23, 2026We are offering the Sacrament ofReconciliation, Lenten Penance Service,this Sunday March 22nd.
One o’clock at Sacred HeartChurch and three o’clock at St. MalachyChurch. Also, half an hour before the5:30 Saturday evening Mass at SacredHeart, half an hour before the 8:30Sunday morning Mass at St. Malachy, andafter the 10:00 Sunday morning Mass atSacred Heart. Truly, a gracious gift inpreparation for Holy Week and the graceof Easter Sunday. We will have anotherpriest helping out this Sunday.From another person’s perspective: Going to confession can feel a little intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s a beautiful Sacrament that allows us to encounter the Lord and receive his mercy, forgiveness, healing and peace. Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son shows us the way God our Father awaits us—opening His arms to those who come to Him with repentant hearts.Celebrating the Sacrament might look something like this: When you enter the reconciliation room to the confessional, you may be able to choose to kneel behind a screen or sit face-to-face with the priest. Either way is fine. And don’t worry if you don’t remember everything —the priest will guide you through it.
When you are in place, the priest will lead you in making the sign of the cross. It is also customary to begin by stating how long it has been since your last confession. (And the Lord does not keep track of time.) Next, you simply ‘name’your sins—venial and mortal— sins of omission and contagion—you’ve committed or wish you had done better. Just speak from your heart. The priest is there to listen, not judge. (If you have forgotten certain sins that you wanted to be forgiven of, the Lord looks in your heart and knows what is unspoken.).Next the priest gives a penance—it could be a prayer to a small act of kindness to help you grow in God’s grace. After that, you’ll offer a prayer to express your sorrow, usually one of the forms of the Act of Contrition prayer. Or simply and profoundly, you can offer a prayer of contrition in your own words. Finally, the priest will pray the words of “absolution,”of God’s forgiveness. You respond,“Amen.”Your sins are forgiven, if you are truly sorry, regardless of the sin. Before you leave you may offer a simple,‘thank you,’in gratitude for this gift.On our part, St. Francis of Paola reminds us, “Pardon one another so that later on you will not remember the injury.The recollection of an injury is itself wrong. It adds to our anger, nurtures our sin, and hates what is good. It is a rusty arrow and poison for the soul. It puts all virtue to flight.”
And Pope Francis directs our personal efforts of forgiveness and mercy within our homes and families: “Practicing forgiveness not only saves families from divisiveness, but makes them capable of helping society to be less heartless and less cruel.Yes, each act of forgiveness fixes the cracks in the house and strengthens it’s walls.”Martha replied,“Yes Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” As the Christian author, Thomas Monson comments, “The passage of time has not altered the capacity of the Redeemer to change men’s lives.As he said to the dead Lazarus, so he says to you and me:“come forth.”Come forth from the despair of doubt. Come forth from the sorrow of sin. Come forth from the death of disbelief. Come forth to a newness of life. Come forth.”God Bless, Fr. TimFYI: “Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full of slush." (Doug Larson, nature writer